MUSIC

"STAY RAD DAD"

November 9, 2011

Last night, I saw a friend and had some stuff in my hands. I wanted to be a little more friendly than just a "hi" or "how's it going?" So I went in for a fist bump...it felt weird.

Then it occurred to me: I am always the recipient of the fist bump, but never the dealer.

There's couple reasons for this, I think...first, I usually rebel against all things "hip." Fist bumps are pretty hip these days, so I never want to be the catalyst for such a popular thing.

Sometimes this rebellion against all that is hip can be detrimental, however. For instance, I've never owned a pair of Converse All-Stars because they were super popular when I thought I might want one. Now, a couple years after the fact (these shoes will always be popular, but seem to go in waves I think), flat-soled shoes hurt my knees so I try to avoid them. Am I missing out? I may never know, although I have friends that swear these shoes are extremely comfortable.

The other reason is similar: I'm old-fashioned and believe that handshakes are always the way to go. Why do we fist bump anyway? It's so impersonal. Maybe it's the slightest step towards homophobia (some guys don't like to touch other guys). Or perhaps we're all afraid of germs and, unless we have a handy bottle of sanitizer, we don't want to touch people with the palm of our hands.

Or maybe it's because our president fist bumps his wife!

He's so cool...

I think it's just another symbol of the fact that we're becoming more disconnected socially. It's small, but think about it.